Generation Kill

Where do you start to review a program like Generation Kill? I wasn’t sure where to start so thought I would see what other people thought about it. I looked at the user comments on IMDB, one stood out, someone calling himself johnha-1 said:

“As a former Marine who was deployed to the same place at the same time, I think this show did an excellent job of capturing the ‘essence’ of what the invasion of Iraq was like to the men who were there. This show comes closer to accurately portraying wartime Marines than any other show I’ve ever seen. I think this is as close as Hollywood can get short of being there and filming it live. Sometimes the special effects are a little over the top, but the dress, demeanor and dialog of the characters are very accurate.”

I don’t see what else to say about the show other than giving a little background information: Rolling Stone magazine journalist Evan Wright accompanied The United States Marine Corps’ 1st Reconnaissance Battalion during the first phase of the Iraq War in 2003. The TV mini series is based on his book of the same name. The show was written by Wright along with David Simon and Ed Burns best know for The Wire. Simon and Burns also executive produced the show. To add to the authenticity the cast includes former Sgt. Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Reyes playing himself. The show is perfectly cast and the performances excellent with a standout from James Ransone. The one thing you don’t expect from a war based show is humour but Generation Kill is full of it. Having seen in the “Conversation with the 1st Recon Marines” from the DVD it appears the comedy (especially in inappropriate situations) is completely authentic.

Authentic, original, funny, cutting and telling but most importantly believable to put it simply this is a TV show that is better than most war movies.